2022 La Petite Empreinte Bourgogne Côte d'Auxerre Tapis Rouge
WINEMAKER: Romain de Moor & Mélissa Bazin
REGION: Burgundy, FR
VARIETY: Pinot Noir
VITICULTURE: Organic
Planted in 1978 these vines are situated in Saint-Bris at the top of a south-facing Portlandian limestone plateau. In conversion to organics. It had 30 days of maceration of whole bunches with two punch downs. After pressing it was aged for 11 months in barrels without racking. No added sulphites.
La Petite Empreinte, which translates as ‘The Small Footprint’ is the very new estate of Romain de Moor (son of Alice and Olivier) and his partner Mélissa Bazin. When your parents are Alice and Olivier you have learned from two of the best – not just about winemaking but about viticulture as well. Olivier is one of the deepest thinkers we know about soil health and, most particularly, how to continue to work as they do given the many impacts climate change is throwing at them. But in addition to having that deep family knowledge at their fingertips they spent time with a wealth of iconic vignerons before they came back to the de Moors family estate in Courgis then purchased their own vines. Mélissa has also spent time in the Jura at Domaine Labet and, before, that internships in the Ardèche, where she comes from, with several vignerons including Sylvain Bock, Gérald Oustric and Gilles Azzonni. She also worked with Domaine Bruno Clair. Romain has also worked in several estates including Jean-François Ganevat and Domaine Lapierre. What a wonderful selection of teachers they both have had! They have also both had formal training as part of their ‘apprenticeship’ prior to embarking on the La Petite Empreinte project from 2020.
Their micro-estate consisted originally of less than a hectare of vines in Saint-Bris-le-Vineux and Vincelottes, both communes in the Yonne department in the north of Burgundy. They have slowly added to it and planted new vines but it is still tiny. They currently have Pinot Noir, Gamay, and Sauvignon Blanc vines but the two wines we have for our first offering are both made from 100% Pinot Noir. The work organically in their vines, which are in clay and limestone soils, and are part-way through the process of conversion to achieve organic certification.